Foshie and Jamica Bell are local parents who decided to homeschool many years ago. Jamica is also the founder of the Barrow County Homeschool Group, which she began less than two years ago. It was a pleasure to interview Jamica because her reasons for wanting to homeschool and her “philosophy” resonated with me very much.

Jamica also makes homeschooling look easy considering she has seven children: Eshantee, age 20; Nia, age 19; Jamica, age 17; Asha, age 15; Eden, age 12; Foshie, age 9 and Zion, age 4!

She has been homeschooling for 14 years. Her eldest two children started school at a private Christian academy. Though they had a good experience at the academy, she says she was very impressed with how open and earnest her daughters were about learning. During their first summer vacation, they asked questions and wanted to know all sorts of things. This made Jamica start thinking. After the children returned to school, they would no longer be able to spend their days learning about the world together.

“I realized I wanted more of this very valuable time and determined I did not want to share the fleeting years of my children’s youth with anyone else,” she says.

She considers herself an eclectic homeschooler. That is, she does not use a specific curriculum. Instead, she finds what works for each child and pulls from a variety of sources whether it’s a structured program or not.

“I believe in stimulating all the senses when learning a new subject and expounding on learned subjects.”

Even if a child prefers a more structured curriculum, Jamica will stimulate their creative thinking by asking them to do something special. For example, one year her daughter, Nia, organized a Hawaiian Heritage celebration because her great-grandmother was Hawaiian. They experienced an authentic meal, language, music and dance and learned more about their family’s roots.

When I asked her if she had a particular philosophy, she said, “It’s every parent’s responsibility to give their child the most excellent education they can: academically, emotionally, spiritually and psychologically.” However, she explained, the roads leading there are limitless. That is, it is up to the parent to decide what path to take in providing that education. Whether homeschooling, private or public school, the parent can make this experience as rich as they would like. If a child is interested in aviation, the parent can allow the child to watch videos, build model airplanes or even schedule a flight in a charter plane. “At the end of the day,” she said, “it’s the parent’s commitment to excellence that matters most.”

Her philosophy has already started to pay off. She says her eldest daughter is a wife, mother and business owner. Her second eldest, Nia, has graduated and is now enrolled at Georgia Gwinnett College. She had no problem entering college as a homeschooler.

Nia said she has the highest praise for homeschooling. “My home education allowed me to learn who I was and who I wanted to be without the burden of my peers pressuring me in any other direction.” She has had opportunities to socialize with all kinds of kids, including those who attend traditional school, and she says, “I can honestly say that even according to them, I am the happier and better adjusted of the group.”

She has also had the opportunity to see some homeschoolers whose parents weren’t as attentive or didn’t provide the necessary socialization. This has negative results on the student. “But providing that those pitfalls are avoided, I believe homeschooling can provide a child with the self-confidence, coping skills and academic understanding to reach their full potential.”

Nia said that this latter image of homeschoolers is what most people expect when they hear the word “homeschooling,” and her mother agrees.
Jamica said, “What I like least about homeschooling is the stereotypes we come up against. Perhaps, based on a biased article, other media, or a negative personal experience, there are so many people who think they know who we are and what we do. We (homeschoolers) all get painted with the same brush.”

She said that it only takes the witness of one marvelous homeschooling moment or encounter to change the mind of the individual. I hope so, and I hope that the Bells can show many people how good homeschooling can be. It should be noted that in Barrow County, there are 273 homeschooling families and 470 homeschooled students. That’s too many families to make negative assumptions about.

In my interview, Jamica said many informative things, and I couldn’t fit it all into this column. If you’d like to read the script, you can visit my blog at www.mamaofletters.com

Shelli Bond Pabis is a Winder resident and columnist for the Barrow Journal. You can reach her at writetospabis@gmail.com.

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